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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. –The Northeastern State RiverHawks (2-6, 2-6 MIAA) will put their two-game win streak on the line when they play host to the Lincoln Blue Tigers (1-8, 1-8 MIAA) on Senior Day. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) Nov. 3 at Doc Wadley Stadium (8,300) in Tahlequah, Okla.
 
NSU's 16 seniors will be honored prior to the contest. The game can be heard live on KTLQ 1350 AM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus and Sean Rowley providing commentary. A free audio broadcast can be found at goriverhawksgo.com. The game will also be streamed live on America One (b2tv.com, subscription based).
 
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  This will be the first ever meeting between Northeastern State and Lincoln . . . NSU has won its last two games after losing its first six contests of the 2012 campaign . . . the RiverHawks have now defeated both Central Missouri (24-23) and Southwest Baptist (22-17) . . . the Blue Tigers have dropped their last two contests after snapping a six-game losing streak in a win over Nebraska Kearney (34-27) . . . in its most recent action, Lincoln was defeated at home by Central Oklahoma (56-25) . . . NSU was selected ninth in the preseason MIAA coaches poll, while LU was picked 15th.
 
THE SENIORS  .  .  .  NSU's 16 seniors will be honored prior to playing their final game at Doc Wadley Stadium . . . those seniors are; offensive lineman Michael Bowie, wide receiver Chucky Bryant, wide receiver Jahmai Coleman, deep snapper Corey Combs, defensive lineman Blake Dirteater, tight end Ryan Dvorak, quarterback/holder Cale Fulps, wide receiver Gionni Harris, offensive lineman James Harrison, tight end Stephen Huckaby, safety Terrence Leach, quarterback Dallas McCutcheon, defensive lineman James McGue, wide receiver Jermaine Sherman, defensive lineman Alan Stroup, and fullback Nick Whitlow.
 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's KENNY EVANS (Northeastern State, '82) is in his fifth season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he collected his first career collegiate coaching victory on Oct. 18, 2008, with a 45-20 triumph over Southwest Baptist . . . he recorded a 3-19 record in his first two years at the school, but he has begun to turn around the program with a combined 15-16 mark over the last two+ years . . . he led NSU to a 6-5 mark in 2010 and a 7-5 record last season, giving the RiverHawks their first back-to-back winning seasons since 1998-00 . . . Evans currently owns a career 18-35 record at NSU, his first stop as a head coach.
            He has coached or recruited nine All-Americans, 11 conference players of the year, more than a dozen players who have made it into the National Football League, as well as numerous all-conference selections at seven different colleges . . . before taking the job at NSU, Evans coached linebackers at Louisiana Tech for Derek Dooley in 2008 . . . he was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2005 by the Football Foundation while coaching at the University of North Texas on the staff of Darrell Dickey.
            The Warner, Okla., native and Northeastern State graduate began his coaching career at Miami (Okla.) High School in 1981 before joining the college ranks as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Oklahoma for Barry Switzer and the Sooners . . . afterwards, he followed long-time Sooner offensive coordinator Galen Hall to the University of Florida where he coached wide receivers for the Gators for one year . . . he has also made stops at Southeastern Oklahoma and Missouri Southern as coordinators.
            LU's MIKE JONES (Missouri, '91) is in his second season with the Blue Tigers . . . he led the Blue Tigers as they rejoined the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association last season after a 21-year absence, and this season continues his efforts to make LU one of the most competitive teams in the nation's best NCAA Division II football conference . . . Jones currently has a 2-18 record . . . prior to being hired at Lincoln, Jones spent the 2010 season as the linebackers coach at Southern University, which is a Division I historically-black university in Louisiana . . . the Jaguars' defense recorded several solid numbers in 2010, including 26 sacks, eight interceptions and 92 tackles for loss . . . Jones joined the coaching staff at Southern after a tremendously successful six years at Hazelwood East High in St. Louis . . . in 2008, Jones was elevated to the position of head coach at Hazelwood East, and in his first season he led the team to a 12-2 record and the Missouri state championship. Jones finished with an 18-7 overall high school coaching record.
            While Jones has had success as a head coach, he is better known as a former player . . . he spent 12 years playing professional football, though none was sweeter than the 1999 season in which he helped the St. Louis Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans . . . during that game, Jones, a linebacker with the Rams, made a play that has gone down as one of the greatest in Super Bowl history . . . on the final play of that game, with the Titans trailing by seven and on the Rams' 10-yard line, quarterback Steve McNair fired a pass to receiver Kevin Dyson who was running towards the goal line . . . Jones quickly adjusted and tackled Dyson with the ball on the one-yard line, preserving the victory for the Rams, who earned their first Super Bowl title.
            Jones attended the University of Missouri, where he was one of the Tigers' starting running backs . . . during his four years at Mizzou he was the Tigers' second-leading rusher, and set a school record with 104 yards in a single quarter. During his junior and senior seasons, Jones was the team's leading scorer . . . he finished his illustrious collegiate career with Missouri records as having the most receptions by a running back in a season (41) and in a career (72), and he was a semi-finalist for the Doak Walker Award, given annually to the country's top running back. Jones was inducted into the Missouri Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
 
SHUTTING DOWN THE RUN  .  .  .  The NSU run defense has been sensational over the last two contests . . . the RiverHawks have given up just a combined 63 rushing yards to Central Missouri (22) and Southwest Baptist (41) on 47 carries, for a ridiculous 1.3 yards per rush and only 31.5 yards per game . . . Northeastern State defeated both the Mules and the Bearcats, and the team entered the stretch allowing 238.7 rushing yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry.
 
JUMPING ON TOP .  .  .  Northeastern State has scored first in each of its last four games and in five of its last six contests . . . the RiverHawks went ahead 3-0 on a Drew Patton field goal in three of those games (Washburn Sept. 15; Missouri Western State Oct. 6; Southwest Baptist Oct. 27) . . . NSU scored touchdowns against both Northwest Missouri State (Sept. 29) and Central Missouri (Oct. 20) . . . the lone contest in the stretch where NSU did not score first was Sept. 22 against Emporia State, when the Hornets shut out the green and white in the opening half.
 
SCORING EARLY .  .  .  NSU has scored on its opening possession in five of eight games this season . . . the RiverHawks have scored opening-possession TD's in three games (Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern State, Northwest Missouri State) and field goals in two (Washburn, Southwest Baptist) . . . Northeastern State also scored on its second possession against Missouri Western State (field goal) and its third possession to start the game against Central Missouri (touchdown).
 
JONES LEADS MIAA IN TACKLES, IS 19TH IN THE NATION  .  .  .  Junior linebacker Langston Jones recorded a career-high-tying 16 tackles against Missouri Southern State Sept. 8 . . . seven of his tackles were of the solo variety, while the other nine were assisted . . . he now has a team-leading four games with double-digit tackles this year, and his 220 career stops are good for fourth in NSU's history since joining the NCAA . . . Jones is also leading the MIAA in tackles per game (10.5), and he ranks 19th in the NCAA in that category.
 
SURPASSING MILESTONES  .  .  .  There are currently five RiverHawks who are approaching or have surpassed career milestones . . . senior wideout Jermaine Sherman became just the fourth player to eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau since NSU became an NCAA program in 1998 . . . sophomore Joel Rockmore became just the fifth RiverHawk in the NCAA era to reach 1,000 career rushing yards . . . both members of the team reached their career milestones Oct. 20 against Central Missouri . . . junior cornerback Vernon Jones has nine career interceptions, tying him for the school's NCAA record for most in a career . . . sophomore quarterback Johnny Deaton is second in NSU's NCAA history in passing yards (4,085), total offense (4,382) and passing TD's (32) . . . to tie Kenny Davis for all three of those marks, he needs, respectively, 247 passing yards, 363 total offense yards, and three passing TD's . . . junior linebacker Langston Jones is fourth on NSU's D-II charts with 220 career tackles.
 
JONES'N FOR A PICK  .  .  .  Junior Vernon Jones has five interceptions this season, with all five coming in his last six games . . . he had two INT's Oct. 3 against Missouri Western, and he is second in the MIAA and ninth in the nation in that category . . . Jones has nine picks in two seasons as a member of the RiverHawks, tying him for the school's career NCAA record.
 
10 TACKLES FOR EVERYBODY  .  .  .  The NSU defense has produced seven different players who have recorded double-digit tackles in a game this season . . . leading the way for the RiverHawks is junior linebacker Langston Jones, who has four games with at least 10 tackles . . . junior safety Victor Johnson and junior linebacker Jack Gray both have three 10-tackle games . . . others with a 10-tackle performance this season are senior safety Terrence Leach, junior safety Victor Williams, sophomore defensive back Cayle Shambaugh and sophomore cornerback Chandler Barr.
 
RUNNIN' THE ROCK .  .  . Sophomore running back Joel Rockmore has rushed for at least 100 yards in five of his last six games, including a career-high 176 yards on just 15 attempts Sept. 15 against Washburn (11.7 average) . . . he was a big reason why the RiverHawks were able to record 251 rushing yards against the No. 9 team in the nation . . . he has also hit the century mark against Emporia State (16-105), Missouri Western (20-131), Central Missouri (25-121), and Southwest Baptist (38-169) . . . he has set his career high for carries in a game in each of his last four games, with his newest mark of 38 coming against the Bearcats . . . Rockmore has also recorded 200 all-purpose yards twice this season, against Washburn (211) and Missouri Western (203) . . . he is averaging 110.3 rushing yards per game, which is good for second in the conference and 26th in the nation . . . he is also averaging 149.9 all-purpose yards per game, good for fifth in the MIAA and 25th in the nation.
 
BLACK JERSEYS  .  .  .  NSU will don an alternate black uniform on special occasions throughout the 2012 campaign . . . the jerseys debuted in the RiverHawks' home opener Aug. 30 against Pittsburg State to celebrate the first game for Northeastern State as members of the MIAA . . . the team will also wear the black jerseys with black pants on Senior Day Nov. 3 against Lincoln.
 
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